


Sea salt

by dontmindme_imafangirl



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru Fluff, M/M, Mermaid Alternate Universe, Oblivious Oikawa Tooru, Pining Iwaizumi Hajime, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tumblr Prompt, athlete oikawa, iwaoi - Freeform, merman au, merman hajime, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 04:56:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10482567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontmindme_imafangirl/pseuds/dontmindme_imafangirl
Summary: Tumblr prompt:  Hello~! For your fic prompt post could you write about merman!Iwa pining after human-but-incredibly-enchanting Oikawa? It's usually the opposite and I've always wanted to see Iwa be the mer who tries to (unsuccessfully, at first) court Oikawa (from Teamcoolshark)A year ago, Iwaizumi could've sworn he'd met a siren for the first time of his life.The fact that said siren was in fact, a human was of little importance.Now a year later, he's not sure how to address the feeling pooling in his chest every time he looks at the most beautiful bipedal creature he's ever seen.





	

****

It was on yet another quiet evening that it happened, rocky shores glowing in the bask of pink hues, the breeze gentle, swirling salt in its path, leaving ginger, salt-laced kisses to the sky above and the sands below.

He glanced up to the expanse of land and gleamed, eyes bright when he noticed he was there.

_Of course he’s there_ , he scolded himself at the sigh that escaped his lips, _What were you expecting? This has been going on for over a year now._

He dared a small peek to the sea shore, a long strip of land draped in rocks moistened by the waves, some reaching higher than others, allowing a serene view of the gleam of the sea below.

Per usual, a lean body was climbing its way on the rocks, landing atop the one nearest to the sea, his shoes long forgotten somewhere along the way, the waves licking at his feet, luring him into cold waters, not unusually so for that time of the year.

The boy plopped down with a small huff, barely audible across the distance he was settled in, and nestled his head atop his knees, bare feet reddened by the journey onto the farthest rock. He had been coming here for so long that Iwaizumi had stopped keeping count somewhere along the lines.

 

It was by pure coincidence he had seen him in the first place-it was after a dare that he swam so close to the shore, propping his head up-surprised at how easy breathing air without water laced in it was, triumphly settling beside a lone rock formation sitting farther away than the lined path between sea and shore, deep enough for him to nestle at without risking exposure and far enough to remain hidden from prying eyes, yet just close enough to be able to look into the human side of things, see creatures with two legs and no scales roaming happily across the land. It left an uneasy pang in his chest that he’d rather ignore.

Then he noticed him.

A soft figure, making its way atop pointy rocks and glistening surfaces with such ease that it made him squint in disbelief, refusing to accept that such a graceful creature wasn’t one of them, a child of the sea. He dared inch closer, taking shelter under a small cave-like formation beneath the water, made by long corrosion of the rocks.

Peeking up, he took in the boy’s face with a gulp.

Pale skin met strong hazel, eyes bright and determined yet so gentle as they roamed over the sea, a small soft smile toying the ends of his mouth, mop of brown sun-kissed hair mussed up by the winds, body toned and lean beneath his shirt. Hajime could’ve sworn that if he looked down, he’d find a tail on the man instead of those… _feet._ Yet even they were beautifully crafted on him, long and smooth beneath a short fabric-shorts, he assumed they were called. 

There was a sudden urge to inch closer, to approach the boy, to drag him back down into the sea with him and watch him swim with a magnificent smile on his lips.

But Iwaizumi knew better than that. He was aware of the complications brought upon merman and human interactions, heard the cautionary tales from his family, knew that at the very least his appearance would perhaps shock the boy into running away, never to be seen again.…

But gods _damn_ the guy was gorgeous.

He observed him for a while, the dare placed by his friends long-forgotten, lost somewhere beneath thoughts of hazel eyes and plump lips. The boy just sat there, curled in on himself, eyes focused at the farthest end of the horizon yet vision lost elsewhere, if the small scowl on his face was anything to go by.

There were tears in his eyes, small salty drops forming a small sea of their own, and the urge to reach up to the boy and kiss the droplets away was so tempting Iwaizumi had to swim a bit further away, not trusting himself in the situation.

He stayed there for an hour or so before sighing and getting up, dusting himself clean and with a pointed look to the deep blues, picking up pace and moving from rock to rock, eventually disappearing back into the land, leaving a hole in the merman’s chest. 

If he dared come back the next day, it was absolutely not because he was wishing he’d catch a glimpse of the gleamy-eyed boy. And if his heart skipped a beat when he did, it wasn’t because he did see him again, at the same time he did yesterday, at the same rock and with the same pout. And if he went there again, day after day, until he figured out the boy was coming there at least twice a week every evening…

…Who was he kidding. He wanted those bright eyes for his own, and he wanted them now.Ever since the first time he saw the man crying, he catalogued his expression in the back of his mind, etching each squint of eyes and tug of lips at the back of his mind to remember for as long as it took to see the boy again. 

 

The sound of a voice shook him from his reminiscing, his tail shaking unconsciously at the shock. 

“Um, is someone there?”

His eyes met the wondering ones of the boy and his first instict was to grab that beautiful bipedal creatre and marvel at the soft sound of its voice, yet the little common sense he could conjure yelled at him to dive back into the ocean. 

Somehow he drowned that common sense in his own depths and remained still, safely hidden behind the rock right across the one the boy was now standing at.

"I know you’re there. I heard you sigh.“

He flinched but refused to come out of his hiding spot, scared of the reaction he’d receive. 

“You know, if you don’t come out from there, I can just come to you right?”

The smugness of that voice sent a shiver down his spine, scales vibrating at the feeling. He dared a peek from his hiding spot to see the boy sporting a cocky smile, his feet dangerously close to the edge of the rock formation. 

“Though you should probably know, I don’t know how to swim.”

Iwaizumi didn’t have any time to think no time to comprehend what kind of heathen didn’t know how to swim, because as soon as he heard the words there was a loud splash, a body hitting the water with force, swishes of waves rippling all the way to him. 

Common sense be damned, he willed his tail and swam as fast as he could to the creature plopping his arms around and gasping for air, clearly not used to the feeling of being surrounded by water. 

He reached him in a matter of seconds and stilled him, hands wrapping around the flailing boy’s waist and propping him up, letting him take long gasps of air. 

The original shock and tears on his face were replaced with a gaping mouth and wide eyes, hands stilled, gripping onto Iwaizumi’s forearms with all their might. 

Even like this, there was no denying it; the guy was beautiful. Long lidded lashes hid a vibrant brown, skin pale and soft to the touch, small lips drawn into a small gasp-hell even his body was exactly as he imagined, all long and lean and lined with muscles that twitched gently under his touch.

Iwaizumi thought the masterpieces he had seen in shipwrecks held no comparison to the body in front of him. 

He thought of himself, of his pointy light blue ears and scales across the sides of his face, his slanted eyes, pupils so long adjusted to the depths of water he had forgotten just how big they can become. He thought of his tail and flinched, forgetting all about it when it swatted the boy’s legs, bringing a gasp to his lips. 

“Name.”

He looked up, shocked at the roughness of his voice. 

“I-wha-”

“Your name.”

It was odd; this weird bipedal beautiful creature was hanging on to him for dear life, completely at Hajime’s mercy, yet his gaze was demanding, his voice stern and clear and leaving no room for worry.

"Hajime. Iwaizumi Hajime.“

The boy brightened at the name, lips tugging into a smile that pierced its way through his chest. 

"Nice. I’m Oikawa Tooru! I’d shake your hand but ugh, you’re kinda the only thing keeping me afloat right now." 

He grinned and as if to prove his point, moved closer to Hajime, digging his fingers into his arm.

"Are-are you not afraid?”

He was…perplexed, to say the least. This boy-Tooru, should be screaming in fear right now, cursing him, fearing him and his scales and tail and demeanor. Yet he was doing nothing of the sort, he was leaning close and grinning with a smile equal to a thousand pearls and Hajime was so, so lost. 

“Should I be?”

He stared, unsure how to proceed. Were all humans like that? Did they have no sense of fear?

“You saved me. You gave me no reason to be scared, did you?” Tooru brought a hand to his face, gently moving it to the scales on his sides, asking for permission before moving his knuckles down Iwaizumi’s jaw. “You got a tail. And scales. This is so _cool_.” he mussed, eyes bright and burning with a curiosity completely unknown to Hajime.

"I mean I always liked aliens and I know they’re real but you’re-you’re a _mermaid_! And you’re real and you’re right here!“

Hajime pouted at that, glaring at the boy in his arms. 

"I’m a merman. And don’t compare me to..to whatever this alien thing you mentioned is.”

Tooru laughed at the scolding, seemingly unfazed by his stern expression. 

“Sorry sorry. Merman then. And aliens are like…the space equivalent of sea creatures.” he smiled at the cock of Hajime’s head and continued “They’re ah-they’re beings that live in the sky? Away from here. Real far.”

He nodded at that, feeling at ease despite the circumstances, until the body in his arms twitched, trembling from the cold of the sea he persumed. With a sigh he pulled him closer, swimming to the nearest shore he could lay the freezing boy-Tooru, he had to remind himself, to lay Tooru down and let him warm up from the water. 

Oikawa squealed at the movement, shifting when Iwaizumi pulled him closer to wrap his hands around his neck, oblivious to the redness of the nape of the neck he was leaning onto.

"How does this even work?! How do you breathe underwater? Does it hurt? Does it feel different over the water surface?“

The questions came rushing in a thousand miles an hour, and Hajime refused to answer any until he reached as close to the empty sea shore as he dared, leaving Tooru in a depth where he was certain the boy could stand on. 

"Just quiet down for a second will you?!”

Tooru looked at him, eyes wide and remorseful. He didn’t want to upset the boy, he just wanted him to simmer down for a moment. He wasn’t the only one with questions after all. 

“How did you know I was there?”

“I heard you sigh!”

“That is not believable. The sea would drown out the sound. So again, I ask; how did you know?”

Oikawa shifted in his spot, his clothes now clinging to his body like a second skin from the cold water.

"I figured out that someone was there. Not just this time either. I just felt brave enough to actually look for said person this time.“

He looked up and the bright hazel was too much for Iwaizumi, the small pout the confusing words, the fact that the boy he has been crushing on for the past year was in front of him, talking to him-It was as if the gods themselves decided to bestow upon him a terrible curse and blessing all at once.

"I-was it you?”

“What?”

He didn’t want to admit he was too lost into his own head to hear Tooru, assuming it’d be rude even for humanly customs.

"It’s a simple question. Yes, or no?“

"Oh. Um. Yes?”

The human all but squealed, smile bright and breathtaking, and one moment Hajime was admiring the creature more beautiful than any siren, then the next there were arms wrapped around his neck, a warm huff of air on his ear. 

“I knew it! I knew someone was there!”

Tooru leaned back, arms still locked at the nape of Hajime’s neck. He had fallen back into the water, only supported by the hand locked onto his waist, blissfully unaware if the reddening of the merman’s cheeks. 

“I moved here last year and it was, well, hard. The ocean was a quiet place to collect my thoughts and vent, but I felt this…presence every time I was here.” He grimaced, shaking his head at the discomfort reflected on Hajime’s face “Oh don’t get me wrong! It wasn’t like, weird. If anything, it was kinda soothing. Like someone was looking out for me. But to finally get to meet you..” He looked back down at Iwaizumi with a loopsided grin.

"…I wish we can be friends. If you’d be cool with that. Which I totally get if you’re not. Ugh, maybe you’re not even supposed to be talking with a human? Will you get in trouble for this? Ah shit, I didn’t mean to trouble you, let me just, um-“

He started to lean away from Hajime, the merman already missing the heat of the boy’s skin on his. As if by reflex, he pulled him back down, Tooru’s face mere inches away from his. 

"I’d like that. This…friendship you seek.”

“Really?!”

“On one condition." 

He swatted an accusing finger to Tooru’s face, the human boy wincing at the action.

"You learn how to swim.”

*****

“I can’t believe it. I can’t…gods, this can’t be happening.”

If you asked him a few months ago, Iwaizumi would swear Oikawa Tooru was a siren hiding beneath human skin, luring him into a trap with his slender legs and liquid amber eyes. But now?

Oh boy. Tooru was waddling into the water, his legs dragging behind him, making big thunderous splashes everytime he brought one up over the waters surface to swat it back down with force, as if the brutality of his movement would propel him forward. His hands were tightly clasped in Hajime’s, and though under other conditions the proximity would make the merman blush, it was merely agitating him for now. 

“Oikawa. I’m practically dragging you. You need to use those…dwindly seaweeds you call legs, if you truly wish to swim by yourself.”

“I’m _trying_ Ariel! Not everyone has been raised in water all their life you know!”

“And again, I don’t understand the reference. My name’s Hajime." 

He sighed, trying to release Tooru’s hands only to be met with a tuft of brown hair blocking his vision, Tooru clearly refusing to let go and furiously clinging to him with all his might. 

He looked down to the freightened boy to find him looking up, a small pout that should not be as adorable as it was decorating his face. 

"I don’t like this. I’m a volleyball player, not an olympic swimmer. Who needs to know how to swim anyway. I can just bring a giant flaotee with me whenever we meet up. Yeah, I could do that.”

With a sigh, he leaned down and kissed the complaint off of the humans lips, receiving the most rewarding, awe-struck expression at his action.

"That wasn’t fair! You caught me off guard!“ the boy in his arms squealed. Then, in a soft whisper, he inched closed to Hajime, bringing a hand to the scalesat his sides. ”…Do it again.“

Correction; Oikawa Tooru was most definitely a siren disuised in human skin. …Just not a very good siren, is all. 

*****

**Author's Note:**

> I answered this on tumblr ages ago but completely forgot to upload it on ao3 hahah ^^''  
> It was really fun to write though, and as promised to the lovely person that sent this, if I find the time to I'd quite like to make it into a longer series...eventually...TuT
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you'd like to see more prompts, send one in yourself, or just scream about the endless void that is a black hole (or /is/ it?), my tumblr's dontmindme-imafangirl.tumblr.com  
> <3
> 
> (Also I might change the title at some point? Idk hahah, if you guys have a better title recommendation feel free to comment it below! ^^)


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